Macro beers like Stella, Budweiser, Millers etc

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mirsultankhan

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Normally i don't buy anything but what our American friends term craft beers. Beers from micro breweries or specialised beers. The problem is that I was spending so much on them waiting for my own beers to ferment that I decided to buy a so called macro beer. It was a choice between Stella Artios, Budweiser, Millers or some crazy French beer. I opted for Stella. When I opened the bottle and tasted it, it was almost unpalatable. It was thin, watery and overly bitter for my taste. I thought if I brewed this I would be reticent about giving it to my friends and yet they sell it by the truck load.

I really wonder what happened. I cannot remember it tasting so bland. Is it just that homebrewers have a more discerning palate? that they are used to a more complicated beer with a much broader spectrum of flavours? or that they simply make superior beer? I can understand that if you want something light on a hot day and its in the fridge but no one can say that its a quality beer, no way. Have you guys ever experienced anything similar or am I crazy? :???:
 
All the time, my friend, all the time.

I spent years drinking basically supermarket lager and other mass produced liquids. All the usual suspects - no need to name check them - and decided in the end that the 250ml bottles of French lager from the Alsace region of France gave the optimum result for my palate and level of tightness.

The uncertainties of employment mean that I even had the privelige of visiting the capital of the Pas de Calais region - the beautiful and strangely inaccessible city of Arras, which is near the site of the medieval Battle of Agincourt. It always has been a point for debate whether this or the guillotine saw of more members of the French aristocracy.

There is now a small township known as Azincourt - I saw the signs whilst out on the early morning jog.

None of which alters the fact that anyone with a can opener can make better beer than you get in a can.

The bottled "craft" beers are good enough and have pretty labels, but a bit pricey when you can easily equal the beer quality at less than 50p per 500ml bottle.
 
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mirsultankhan said:
Have you guys ever experienced anything similar or am I crazy? :???:
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Many of us have. It's a principle that applies across the world of mass production. Once you have tried things that are made more naturally you find the m,ass produced stuff to be seriously lacking.
 
Slid said:
All the time, my friend, all the time.

I spent years drinking basically supermarket lager and other mass produced liquids. All the usual suspects - no need to name check them - and decided in the end that the 250ml bottles of French lager from the Alsace region of France gave the optimum result for my palate and level of tightness.

The uncertainties of employment mean that I even had the privelige of visiting the capital of the Pas de Calais region - the beautiful and strangely inaccessible city of Arras, which is near the site of the medieval Battle of Agincourt. It always has been a point for debate whether this or the guillotine saw of more members of the French aristocracy.

There is now a small township known as Azincourt - I saw the signs whilst out on the early morning jog.

None of which alters the fact that anyone with a can opener can make better beer than you get in a can.

The bottled "craft" beers are good enough and have pretty labels, but a bit pricey when you can easily equal the beer quality at less than 50p per 500ml bottle.
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Wow Agincourt, what a legendary place! Watched a documentary, they reckon the French knights bottle-necked and that the terrain was too muddy for horses and soldiers in heavy armour! Love to visit it. :D
 
Same here mate; craft beer is the way forward. I don't tend to drink as much either because I just sip at it to enjoy the flavour.

I'm looking forward to sampling my first ever (small) batch of AG pale ale. If that hits the spot then it might be bye-bye to buying beer altogether.
 
mirsultankhan said:
Wow Agincourt, what a legendary place! Watched a documentary, they reckon the French knights bottle-necked and that the terrain was too muddy for horses and soldiers in heavy armour! Love to visit it. :D
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Yes, that's my understanding of events. Les Bleus managed to commit all the great military mistakes in one day.

Assumed they could not lose and celebrated victory on the eve of battle.
Had no recognisible chain of command and no one with any clue in charge.
Allowed their opponents to choose the battleground.
Played to their opponents strengths.
Dissipated their own advantages of speed and power in consequence.
Had no means of changing their plan once the hooves had started sliding.

So - Roll on Twickenham on Saturday. Being Scottish for rugby purposes, I shall be watching as an interested bystander. The way this season has gone, I expect a girl called Joan to be picking the French team next year.
 
CreweBrewer said:
Same here mate; craft beer is the way forward. I don't tend to drink as much either because I just sip at it to enjoy the flavour.

I'm looking forward to sampling my first ever (small) batch of AG pale ale. If that hits the spot then it might be bye-bye to buying beer altogether.
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my galaxy hop2 at 8.15% was more enjoyable than thornbridge's halcyon. Pleased in one respect, but sad in the other that mine was 100% cheaper.

I think the belgian gueze's will be safe for a while I can't wait 3 years to see if I can match those. (plus I dont have ancient oak barrels, like mr. boon!
 
Slid said:
Yes, that's my understanding of events. Les Bleus managed to commit all the great military mistakes in one day.

Assumed they could not lose and celebrated victory on the eve of battle.
Had no recognisible chain of command and no one with any clue in charge.
Allowed their opponents to choose the battleground.
Played to their opponents strengths.
Dissipated their own advantages of speed and power in consequence.
Had no means of changing their plan once the hooves had started sliding.

So - Roll on Twickenham on Saturday. Being Scottish for rugby purposes, I shall be watching as an interested bystander. The way this season has gone, I expect a girl called Joan to be picking the French team next year.
Click to expand...

Scotland have not played badly, in fact its the best Scottish team I have seen for a while and we cannot win a game. We committed suicide against Italy, could and should have won against Wales, played well enough to win against France in Paris, I dunno, lucky white heather anyone! LOL the French, who can predict them, they can be atrocious one game and then turn rugby into an art form the next, super exciting to watch when they are running with the ball and on form. Hopefully the Maid of Orleans makes an appearance! :D
 
bowman159 said:
I here you! Homebrew is real brew, nothing left out or made to make margins. Pure drinking pleasure.
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Tried a Guinness West Indies porter last night, ABV 6%, was a fine beer, quite hoppy for a porter, thank goodness i got none of that other bilge water left.:grin:
 
Like most of us and people these days we are bought up (when legal of course) commercial bulk sold lagers.. Infact my go to drink was Stella Artois and Kronenbourg I used to drink cans of it in my yoof!! But when I hit my late 20s My Now wife bought me some ales one xmas and I was transformed..

I did still have lagers but I actually started to get frustrated because I found they started to seem tasteless.. I may be wrong but I actually swear Stella for example is much worse than it used to be, but that may be a change of palate.

This isn't a go at lagers though I think I well made crisp cold lager really has its place on a warm sunny weekend. But i just do not enjoy the mass produced stuff as much for general consumption. I prefer the depth of flavour. Being able to create your own beer with these levels of flavour and aroma is even more satisfying.. It is why we are here right? :)
 
Having been brewing so many styles of ales and trying so many craft beers I believe what it is that interests me most is an abundance of flavor. This is where most lagers drop the ball. There's really no malt or hop flavor, nor any spices or flavorings from fruits or vegetables or anything else.

I do like a schwarzbier and oktoberfest. Sam Adams Boston Lager is good too. There's a few but not many.
 
Dublin porter is a fantastic example of the style IMHO and I have enjoyed a few of them now. I also enjoy a Cairngorm brewery Black Gold stout and a Loch Lomond brewery smoked ale. Tasting and appreciating quality crafted beer is just such a novelty compared to the days of settling for the deal of the week in tesco. Trying these kinds of beers also helps me to decide what kind of beer I want to try brewing. For instance the smoked ale i mentioned above gave me the idea for my smoked oatmeal stout.
 
rodwha said:
Having been brewing so many styles of ales and trying so many craft beers I believe what it is that interests me most is an abundance of flavor. This is where most lagers drop the ball. There's really no malt or hop flavor, nor any spices or flavorings from fruits or vegetables or anything else.

I do like a schwarzbier and oktoberfest. Sam Adams Boston Lager is good too. There's a few but not many.
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I had some lagers in Bratislava at the weekend that were really beautiful. When they are made expertly, with quality ingredients, and served fresh, they are awesome. Simple is good. It really is. 'Keep it simple' is excellent advice for home brewers.

I like all sorts of beer, including big flavoured American styles, there is a place for all kinds of beers, when they are well made. I have made black beer with about 9 malts and 6 hops that was great. But, if anything, I see some homebrewers trying too hard to pack flavours in, in some instances, chucking in spices and bourbon oak and liquorice sticks and weird herbs and rare coffee and liquers and wild yeast etc etc so that the beer can be called something impressive like 'Nomadic Oak Aged Vanilla Spiced Bourbon Olde English Porter', and everyone is scared to say it's just OTT and ****!

That's MY prejudice out in the open. :-)
 
clibit: To be fair I went to a rodeo recently that had no craft beer available and so I chose Coors which uses corn, which I noticed (I was more a Bud drinker using rice) or the first time. Certainly not what I would have chosen but for what it was it wasn't bad.

With that said I will always gravitate towards anything with more flavor with stouts and IPA's generally coming in tops. One of my personal brews that's quite high on the list is my jalapeño blonde or rye pale ale.

I'm working on a chocolate brown (and blonde next) which is another favorite along with my honey wheat.

And I'm a sucker for an ESB!

I can appreciate a standard lager, but I'll likely not buy one with the many more flavorful options available. But that's just me and with options.

I haven't tried even one of those over the top type beers. I barely got into using vegetables in my jalapeño blonde. I don't mind drawing outside of the lines just a little, but only a little. I can care less about a title, won't wait in a long line for it, and won't pay above average for nearly anything, especially if it's an oddball brew like that.
 
"'Keep it simple' is excellent advice for home brewers."

To a point. Our amber ales all taste about the same. There's only one that stands out (New Belgium Fat Tire). Most of my beers can compete with the basic beers on the shelf. Nothing great but not bad. The ones that do stand out don't stand out because of weird spices, expensive (any) coffee, wood, wild yeasts, etc. They stand out because they use plenty of rye, jalapeños, honey and honey malt, or something else with a basic recipe backbone (though I generally use 2 crystal malts in place of one for more depth).
 

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